Advanced Search   *   Manuscripts   *   Scribes   *   Authors   *   Letters
Home   *   About the Project   *   Bibliography
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council
Find What? Search by
Scribal Profile
Hand 4
Profiles for this Scribe:
 
Current Manuscript:London, British Library MS Harley 1239
Folios:63-106v
Sampled Folios:91r
Example Page:Display a full page showing this scribe's hand
Image Rights:Reproduced with permission of The British Library. All images on this website are reproduced with permission of the Libraries, Archives, and Owners of the manuscripts. Manuscript images that appear on this website remain in the copyright of the libraries where the manuscripts are held. Use of these images for any purpose other than private study without written permission of those libraries is prohibited by law.
 
A
Usage: bath
the scribe uses secretary 'a' throughout mainly within words. He uses double compartment 'a' at the beginnings of words, where 'a' stands alone, and also in the rubric between tales.
Usage: awysyd
double compartment 'a' for the beginning of a word within a line. Double compartment 'a' almost always used at the beginning of a line; there is one exception on f91.
Usage: Bath
use of double compartment 'a' in the rubric at the end of the Wife of Bath's Tale.
Usage: And
upper case 'A' at the beginning of a line.
 
D
Usage: olde
the scribe's regular looped 'd'.
Usage: gud
unlooped 'd' as it appears in the rubric.
Usage: endyth
a slightly different 'd' also in the rubric.
Usage: syde
 
G
Usage: gou(er)aunce
'g' is double compartment.
Usage: God
upper case 'G' with serrated left side.
Usage: knyght
an example of the 'gh' combination.
Usage: thyng
'g' with flourish at the end of a line.
 
H
Usage: howse
both lower and upper case 'h's appear to be the same. The limb is mainly straight, the stem leans forward slightly.
Usage: both
'th' combination. 'h' is usually crossed when it follows 't'.
Usage: endyth
the cross-stroke appears to begin at the shoulder.
  
 
R
Usage: wroth
long 'r' used most of the time in all positions.
Usage: force
'z'-shaped 'r' used only after 'o'.
Usage: fayr
'r' with flourish at the end of a line. However, the scribe almost always includes a flourish on final 'r' whatever the position of the word.
Usage: hyr
modern 'r' hardly ever appears on this folio.
 
S
Usage: c(er)tes
sigma 's' used in final position.
Usage: she
long 's' used initially and in medial positions.
Usage: Syn
upper case 'S
  
 
W
Usage: trew
there is actually very little variation in the scribe's 'w' graph although versions 2 and 3 do show different formations.
Usage: betwyx
a rare example of a slightly different formation following 't'.
Usage: two
another example of variation when 'w' follows the 't' graph.
Usage: wyfe
although this letter does not appear to be an upper case 'W', the scribe forms the upper case letter in exactly the same way.
 
Y
Usage: may
the tail of 'y' varies for no apparent reason between this version with no reverse flick to that in version two. Most examples of 'y' have just a slight curve in the tail.
Usage: by
Usage: wyfe
'y' in the rubric.
  
 
Thorn and Yogh
Usage: þis
the scribe's thorn is barely distinguishable from 'p'. He uses thorn regularly on this folio for all demonstrative adjectives beginning with 'th'.
Usage: þat
Usage: ȝow
the scribe frequently uses yogh to represent the 'y' sound in initial positions.
Usage: ȝong
 
Ampersand
Usage: Ampersand occurs frequently both with and without a straight stroke above.
Usage:
Usage:
Usage: The scribe even uses an ampersand at the beginning of a line.
 
Abbreviative Marks
Usage: i(n)
the use of macron over 'i'.
Usage: hym
frequent use of the flourish on many final letters, 'r', 'm', 'g' and 'n'.
Usage: gou(er)e
careless use of the 'er' abbreviation since the final 'n' before 'e' is missing. This abbreviation is used several times.
Usage: g(ra)ce
the scribe uses the 'ra' abbreviation several times on this folio.
 
Superscript Letters
Usage: þt
Usage: þ?
it is difficult to know what superscript letter the scribe intended here. The text should read 'wheither that' and the scribe may have inserted 'þer' instead, but there is another example on this folio where the scribe uses this form of abbreviation/superscript as a catch-all word.
Usage: Ml
the scribe's abbreviation for 'thousand', perhaps unusual in a line of verse.
Usage: þu
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP